Heathrow paper plane protest
03.07.08
Protesters have pelted the Department for Transport's headquarters with paper planes - all with a picture of Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly on them - in a demonstration against the expansion of Heathrow today. Watched by police, including an armed officer, the demonstrators - known as the Flash Mob - sported red T-shirts, as they did when they appeared at Heathrow Terminal 5 on its opening day last March, outside the Westminster building.
Before the action began at around 11:00 this morning, Police Sergeant Paul McIntyre, based at Westminster, informed participants the demonstration had not been authorised in accordance with the requirements of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 - legislation that covers protests within the central London area. He said that the protesters must disperse by 11.10am, effectively allowing the protest to go ahead.
The paper planes all carried both the face of Ruth Kelly and a message stating simply ‘no airport expansion’. A spokesperson for the Flash Mob said: ‘Despite the fact that she is proposing just about the biggest-ever expansion of Heathrow, Ruth Kelly refuses to talk with residents and campaigners. So we are bringing our messages to her in our own special way.
‘The difference between us and Ruth Kelly is that we will clear our mess away. We are pledged to pick up the planes afterwards so there will be no litter left. Ruth Kelly, by contrast, will cause irreversible damage to the planet if she gives the go-ahead to the expansion of Heathrow.’
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